Machine for making pasteboard boxes



Nov. 12,1935. I J H, STORTZ 2,020,973

MACHINE FOR MAKING PASTEBOARD BOXES Filed May 21, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Wyn 70 WIN 88: Q0 21 I. w- 0 0/47? Ser ay dam w; A770 Iva-ya.

Nov. 12, 1935. J. H. STORTZ MACHINE FOR MAKING PASTEBOARD BOXES Filed May 21, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES MACIHNE FOR. MAKING PASTEBOARD BOXES John H. Stortz, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application May 21, 1931, Serial No. 538,948

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for making pasteboard boxes and more particularly to a mechanism for bending inwardly the sides of a rectangular box so that they are maintained in an upright position.

Heretofore it has been customary to form a pasteboard box or to provide a plain pasteboard box with a cover of glazed or decorated paper, or the like, in one machine and to thereafter manually transfer the box to a machine adapted to bend inwardly the sides thereof so as to maintain them in upright position at right angles. to the main portion of the box bottom or lid. By means of the machines described and claimed in my Patent 1,730,543, dated October 8, 1929, it is possible to effect the automatic transfer of boxes from the forming machine in which the boxes are formed into shape or formed and covered with the glazed paper to a machine in which the sides are bent inwardly so that they will thereafter maintain the desired upright position.

In an application, Serial Number 452,849, filed May 16, 1930, I have described a further machine forming an improvement over that disclosed in. the patent, this later machine being specifically designed for the proper handling of boxes or lids of relatively thin pasteboard and which are not wrapped with cover paper and which have therefore lacked rigidity.

It is a broad object of the present invention to improve the machines of said patent and application primarily with the object of speeding up the operation and of improving the arrangement whereby the feed from the wrapping or forming machine takes place. Specifically the feed of boxes in the present machine is effected by the use of a suitable conveyor belt while the side bending mechanism is supported over said conveyor in position to be moved downwardly so as to engage and bend inwardly the sides of the box.

Other objects of the present invention relating to details of construction will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 isa front elevation of the improved machine partly in section;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same; and

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section showing the conveyor belt and associated parts in plane.

It will be understood that the present mechanism is arranged to handle not only box bottoms but also box lids and where the term box is used hereafter it is intended to include the lid and similarly the word bottom as applied to the box bottom is intended to include the word top as applied to the lid.

The frame of the present machine is indicated at 2, this frame being suitably formed to provide 5 support for. the various operating mechanisms and being specifically. provided with extensions arranged to bring a conveyor belt 4 into proximity with a forming or wrapping machine for the reception of boxes therefrom. The belt 4 is 10 trained over suitable pulleys 6 and 8 and the top lap thereof passes over a table 10 formed on the frame. Feeding movements are imparted to the belt through the medium of a roller I2 over which the belt passes, this roller being carried by a 15 suitable shaft l4 provided at one end with a sprocket wheel over which extends a chain from a driving pulley on a motor [8. In order to impart intermittent feeding movements to the belt, the belt is pressedagainst the roller l 2 by a press- 20 er roller 20. carried on the end of a suitable lever and normally urged downwardly by a spring 22 being arranged to be lifted at certain times through a cam following linkage arrangement 2! acted upon by a cam 23 which is mounted on a 5 shaft 32 hereafter described. An idle roller 24 is provided against which the belt is pressed by a roller 26 pressed downwardly by spring 28. As viewed in Fig. l the belt during its feeding movcments operates in a clockwise direction. 30 The motor [8 drives through suitable reduction gearing indicated at 3!! a cam shaft 32 which supports suitable cams for imparting various movements to the operating parts of the machine. 'One of these cams designated 34 through suit- 35 able linkage and lever arrangements, indicated at 36 and 38, imparts oscillations to a pawl 43 cooperating with a ratchet wheel 42 carried by a shaft 43 journalled in the frame, which shaft at its inner end carries a plurality of fingers i l, in 40 the present instance, four. It will be noted that there are four teeth on the ratchet wheel so that the pawl 49 in its reciprocating movements imparts intermittent quarter turns to the shaft 33. These movements are timed, as will be obvious 45 hereafter.

Extending. over the belt 4 are side guides 46 adjustably carried as indicated at 48 at the receiving end of the machine and being adjustably carried at the discharge end of the machine by 50 the upper ends of levers 50 acted upon by a cam 52 carriedby the shaft 32 so as to impart inward and outward movements to the guides is which are sufficiently thin tobe flexible. The guides carry adjustable stops 54 adjacent the bending 55 be acted upon by the side bending devices.

7 jaws.

rocking movements are imparted through the me dium ofconnections 62 by a cam 84 on the cam shaft 32. At its lower end the rod 58 carries a member 66 provided with four inwardly directed slots 68 in which are guided crossheads "Ill carrying at their lower ends the side bending jaws 12.

.These possibly may be of the forms described in my patent and application to accommodate various types of boxes and need not be described here in detail.

The crossheads 10 are connected by links 14 to a block 16 slidable on the rod 58 and connected by links 18 to a counter-weighted lever 88 which through the medium of connectionstZ' is rocked bye, cam 84 on the main shaft. It will be obvi-' ous that for a given position or" the member 66 reciprocating movements of the block it will cause the jaws to'move inwardly and outwardly.

In the operation of the machine the boxes are discharged from the forming or wrapping machine upon the conveyor belt 4 at that end which passes about the pulley 8. As this conveyor belt moves it tends to carry the boxes toward the side bending mechanism. However, by reason of the fact that one of the pins 44 is always extending downwardly within a box, the boxes are arrested at this point being released at proper times to While the belt may operate continuously it is preferable to have the same operate intermittently to prevent drag on the boxes This intermittent operation is effected by the lifting of roller 20, since,

when the roller 20 is lifted, the frictional engagement of the belt with the pulley I2 is insufiicient to cause movements to be imparted thereto.

movements are imparted to the belt.

When the time comes for a box to advance into position to be acted upon by the side bending mechanism, the side bending mechanism is raised 7 by rod 58 and block 76 being in upper position so that the jaws are at their outmost positions and a clear space is permitted therebeneath for the entry of the box to be acted upon. When the time for feeding to take place comes a step is imparted to the shaft 43 by the pawl 49 whereupon the previously downwardly extending pin 44 releases the box previously held and the next pin drops within the subsequent box arresting it when its trailing wall reaches the position of the pin. Y

The box which is fed beneath the side bendin mechanism is arrested by the stops 54, the guides 46 being at this time in inward position and by their convergence serving to properly locate the box in centralized position beneath the raised Downward movement of the rod 58 now carries the box'to a position either engaging or closely adjacentv to the belt which, at this time, 'is preferably stationary. During this movement the jaws to move inwardly to bend the box sides.

On the other hand when the roller 20 is pressing the belt against the pulley l2 feeding V the. position of the jaws.

After bending takes place the block may be again moved outwardly and the member 66 is raised. Of course, the timing of the parts at this point of the operation may take place in various ways, for example, the block may be lifted directly without substantial outward movement.

As soon as the jaws clear the box, or simultaneously with such clearing, the levers 50 rock outwardly thereby flexing the guides 46 and moving the stops 54 to positions to release the box. 10.

Upon renewed movement of the conveyor belt the box which has been acted upon is discharged from the machine, a new box being simultaneouslylocated in the operating zone. 7

'From the above it will be obvious that the machine is entirely automatic in operation and auto matically takes care of the proper feed, positioning, operation upon, and discharge of the boxes.

While in the preferred embodiment shown, the jaws have both horizontal and vertical movements imparted to them to efiect bending of the box walls, it is feasible to give them vertical movements only to produce a wedging action to bend the box walls inwardly.

It will be obvious that numerous changes may 25 be made in the embodiment of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof asdefined in the following claims.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: t

of movable jaws, a conveyor belt for feeding a box into position to be acted upon by the jaws, means. for moving the jaws to bend the sides of the box about the junctions of the sides and main por tion inwardly beyond a perpendicular position, and. means for arresting boxes on the belt and singly releasing them for movements to the jaws in timedrelationship to such movements of the jaws. v i

2. Mechanism for bending inwardly the sides of a 'box of flexible material including a plurality of vertically movable jaws, an intermittently moving conveyor belt for moving a box horizontally into position to be acted upon by the jaws,

. and means forrmoving the jaws to bend the sides of the box about the junctions of the sides-and main portion inwardly'beyond a perpendicular position, the conveyor belt supporting the box 50 and being stationary during operation of the jaws. r

3. Mechanism for bending inwardly the sides r r r 30 1. Mechanism for bending inwardly the sides of a box of flexiblematerial including a plurality of a box of flexible material including a plurality of vertically movable jaws, a conveyor belt for 5 moving a box horizontally into position to be acted upon by the jaws, means for moving the jaws to bend the sidesof the box about the junctions of the sides and main portion inwardly beyond a perpendicular position, and means for restrainingone or more boxes in advance of the for singly releasing the boxes for movement to 4. Mechanism for bending inwardly the sides of a box of flexible material including a plurality of vertically movable jaws, a conveyor belt for, moving a box horizontally into position to be, acted upon' by the jaws, means for moving the jaws to bend the sides of the box about the junctions of the. sides and main portion inwardly beyond a perpendicular position, stop means for jaws on the belt against movement thereby, and

arresting'boxes in position to be'acted upon by the jaws, and means for withdrawing said stop means to release the boxes for discharge from the machine.

5. Mechanism for bending inwardly the sides of a box of flexible material including a plurality of vertically movable jaws, a conveyor belt for moving a box horizontally into position to be acted upon bythe jaws, means for moving the jaws to bend the sides of the box about the junctions of the sides and main portion inwardly beyond a perpendicular position, means for restraining one or more boxes in advance of the jaws on the belt against movement thereby, and for singly releasing the boxes for movement to the position of the jaws, stop means for arresting boxes in position to be acted upon by the jaws, and means for Withdrawing said stop means to release the boxes for discharge from the machine.

6. Mechanism for bending inwardly the sides of a box of flexible material including a plurality of vertically movable jaws, an intermittently moving conveyor belt for moving a box horizontally into position to be acted upon by the jaws, means for moving the jaws to bend the sides of the box about the junctions of the sides and main portion inwardly beyond a perpendicular position, a conveyor belt supporting the box and being stationary during operation of the jaws, and means for restraining one or more boxes in advance of the jaws on the belt against movement thereby, and for singly releasing the boxes for movement to the position of the jaws.

7 Mechanism for bending inwardly the sides of a box of flexible material including a plurality of vertically movable jaws, an intermittently moving conveyor belt for moving a box horizontally into position to be acted upon by the jaws, means for moving the jaws to bend the sides of the box about the junctions of the sides and main portion inwardly beyond a perpendicular position, a conveyor belt supporting the box and being stationary during operation of the jaws,

stop means for arresting boxes in position to be 10 acted upon by the jaws, and means for withdrawing said stop means to release the boxes for discharge from the machine.

8. Mechanism for bending-inwardly the sides of a box of flexible material including a plurality 15 of vertically movable jaws, an intermittently moving conveyor belt for moving a box horizontally into position to be acted upon by the jaws, means for moving the jaws to bend the sides of the box about the junctions of the sides 20 

